How much can we borrow?

As mentioned to you in our email correspondance without knowing how much actual cash you have to put in the equasion it is a difficult question to answer.

To buy a standard residential property which needs refurbing will require a cash imput of around 6-10% of the purchase price merely to cover the acquisition costs plus the amount required to renovate or reburb the property.

If you can afford $4500 / month then probably a good idea to start a Bank account and in 3 months you should have saved nearly $14,000 between you. That at least will be a start. 

Yes, but would YOU buy them ? There are either in places like Wilcannia or somewhere you'd spend 3 hrs and $300/week to get to work. May as well find a place in the sticks for under 50k and retire on Centrelink benefits.
Reminds me of Mitchel QLD about 5 years ago when Johnnie doubled the FHG for a while. All the real estate in town sold out in a few days and some buyers were even getting refunds from the leftover FHG

There are always options, you may not see them clearly or are to scared of the options but they are there.
"Don't invest in property for at least a few years" , what kind of bs advice is that ? At any one time there are different market forces at work in each state even down to each suburb level. Or maybe you think you will scare enough investors to cause a price collapse to a level you can afford to buy in? If so you are dreaming and will remain a renter for the rest of your life. Sure it can be scary to jump in but remember that Risk =Rewards.

When I bought my first IP for 45k back in 1985 CBA and NAB knocked me back because based on my 10k gross earnings I couldn't even come close to affording it. They were probably right but I managed to score a loan with T&C anyway and struggled to make repayments for the first 2 years before the wage and rental increases caught up with the repayments and I could afford it. By 1989 when the interest rates went up and prices doubled in Perth I couldn't afford to buy another IP but bought one anyway and struggled with even higher interest rates until wages and rental increases caught up with the repayments. Since then I've bought a few more properties which I couldn't afford at the time that are now +ve geared and will remain so even if we turn into a banana republic with interest rates at 18% again. If I was to follow your advice and waited for house prices to come down to a level I could afford I'd probably still be waiting to buy my first IP.

wasnt the whole point that there is a group of you?  using scamps logic thats $150k each if you are earning about $50k each

Not all houses are overpriced. I hate this broad statement. In my area i bought a house that i admit i paid too much for. Not crazy money just around $20,000 more than should have. Live and learn. But if i was to take the building out of the equation it leaves my land value at around $80,000. Thats close to pre 2001 boom prices. My point being there are pockets of realestate that are in good locations and good value. I am constantly spotting properties at around replacement cost now.Take all comments with a grain of salt as there are many posters around at the moment trying to organise a coordinated attack on investing.See through it and try to listen to a more balanced opinion from both sides.

Sav : Every month , houseprices go down by 5% or more.
Why the hell would you buy now when you can buy for half the price in 1 year ?

Couldn't give you any advice but I am surprised to hear that with 95k p.a you can not afford much in Melbourne. I suppose its not about how much you earn but rather how much you can save and how much does the tax man takes away at the end of the year.
Have you done your homework in the area you want to "jump in" ? Is there any particular reason for choosing Melbourne or even VIC, other then because is near you ? Anything that would increase the value of your chosen area above others near it ?
If it was me I'd go with what devo76 said, look for an area with good sized blocks older houses and development potential down the track and find something at or below replacement value from a desperate seller. With prearranged finance I'd start with an offer 20% bellow the asking price, worst thing that can happen is they tell me to f**k off. Then once I got it I'd give it a quick paint job, rent it out and grab all the tax benefits out of it. After a few years maybe I'd look at developing the land. But that's only me. You'll need to do your homework and see what works for you, what risks are you prepared to take and be comfortable with, what sacrifices are you prepared to make in order to achieve the final goal. Only when you know that you should be ready to jump in.
Best of luck

I may as well contribute a bit of a summary of the above with a few thoughts…
1) Usually people that 'wait' for the market to be 'best', never actually get into it.
2) Re prices – I thik a lot of people are fussy, and I can see a gradual exodus to areas where house are more affortable. It makes sens if you want to own your own home and maintain a reasonable lifestyle.
3) For investment, regardless of where the so called property cycle is, there is always value buying around – sub $150k, or otherwise – all depends what you can afford – and how much neg gearing you can service. It is a type of 'forced saving' after all.

Investing in property IS a good time now , as is getting outside your traditional 'comfort zone' a bit – however speculating on sudden jumps in value, rennovation projects, gambling, buying off the plan, overpriced surfers paradise units, and not doing a bit of good old fashioned due dilligence……..is what shouldbe avided now!

all the best on your (our?) journery…..

Hi Sav,
I work as a producer for ABC TV. We are looking for case studies or people in varied financial situations who are looking to buy to include in our panel discussion on the Great Australian Dream… we hope to have financial advisors assess different situations and forecast the right outcome for them. Im on [email protected] if you are interested.